ZAHID WON’T OPT OUT OF RACE FOR NO. 1
No reason for me to do so, says Umno vice-president
DATUK Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he will not pull out from his bid for Umno’s presidency. This was despite several quarters urging him to not put in papers for the post and make way for Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
“There is no reason for me to pull out,” he said in a WhatsApp reply to a news portal.
He was responding to calls for him to pull out from the polls as he was said to be part of the party leadership that suffered an unprecedented loss in the 14th General Election.
Besides Zahid and Tengku Razaleigh, outgoing Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and controversial blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz as well as three others are vying for the top post.
Rahmat, however, believes that his bid may be rejected as he did not fulfil the criterion of serving in the Umno Supreme Council for at least a year.
Zahid, who is handling the duties of the party president after Datuk Seri Najib Razak stepped down from the post, is facing a huge challenge after the party’s poor showing in the May 9 polls.
Those who have expressed their support for Tengku Razaleigh include former second finance minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani and former Johor menteri besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin. They are competing for the post of vice-president.
In a press statement yesterday, Zahid, who was former deputy prime minister, hoped for Umno to move as a team after the defeat.
He said the party polls should be used to face external foes instead of making enemies out of one another.